Means to facilitate food intake and food retention

Abstract

The disclosure provides for means for a method to facilitate food intake and food retention in a mammal by applying a sufficient dose of a local anesthetic drug in the lumen of the pharyngeal-esophageal-gastric-duodenal tract before or during or after eating. The local anesthetic can be amethocaine, articaine, benzocaine, bupivacaine, chloroprocaine, cinchocaine, cyclomethycaine, dibucaine, diethocaine, etidocaine, larocaine, levobupivacaine, lidocaine, lignocaine, mepivacaine, novocaine, piperocaine, prilocaine, procaine, proparacaine, propoxycaine, QX-222, QX-314, ropivacaine, tetracaine, trimecaine, menthol, eugenol or a safe pharmaceutical formulations of tetrodotoxin, saxitoxin, or neosaxitoxin. The disclosure is useful for patients having problems with food intake or food retention.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of increasing the amount of food eaten by a mammal after surgery on the intestinal tract below the stomach or after caesarian section in said mammal, the method comprising having the mammal:
 a) ingest a local anesthetic drug such that the local anesthetic drug is applied to a surface of the esophagus and/or stomach of said mammal; and 
 b) eat a meal, wherein the local anesthetic drug is ingested before or during eating said meal, wherein the local anesthetic drug causes an amount of the meal eaten by the mammal to increase. 
 
     
     
       2. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the local anesthetic drug is selected from the list consisting of amethocaine, articaine, benzocaine, bupivacaine, chloroprocaine, cinchocaine, cyclomethycaine, dibucaine, etidocaine, larocaine, levobupivacaine, lidocaine, mepivacaine, novocaine, piperocaine, prilocaine, proparacaine, propoxycaine, QX-222, QX-314, ropivacaine, tetracaine, trimecaine, eugenol, tetrodotoxin, saxitoxin, and neosaxitoxin. 
     
     
       3. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the local anesthetic drug is lidocaine or ropivacaine. 
     
     
       4. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the local anesthetic drug is applied to a surface of the esophagus. 
     
     
       5. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the local anesthetic drug is applied to a surface of the stomach. 
     
     
       6. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the drug is formulated in a solution or suspension in a vehicle that facilitates retention of the formulation by a mucous epithelium of a mammal. 
     
     
       7. The method according to  claim 6 , wherein the local anesthetic drug is dissolved or suspended in a solution of alginate. 
     
     
       8. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the local anesthetic drug comprises lidocaine or ropivacaine and is applied to a surface of the esophagus. 
     
     
       9. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the local anesthetic drug comprises lidocaine or ropivacaine and is applied to a surface of the stomach. 
     
     
       10. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the local anesthetic drug is administered within 30 minutes before eating. 
     
     
       11. The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the local anesthetic drug is applied to a surface of the esophagus. 
     
     
       12. The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the local anesthetic drug is applied to a surface of the stomach. 
     
     
       13. The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the drug is formulated in a solution or suspension in a vehicle that facilitates retention of the formulation by a mucous epithelium of a mammal. 
     
     
       14. The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the local anesthetic drug is dissolved or suspended in a solution of alginate. 
     
     
       15. The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the local anesthetic drug comprises lidocaine or ropivacaine and is applied to a surface of the esophagus. 
     
     
       16. The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the local anesthetic drug comprises lidocaine or ropivacaine and is applied to a surface of the stomach. 
     
     
       17. The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the local anesthetic drug is administered within 30 minutes before eating. 
     
     
       18. The method according to  claim 12 , wherein the local anesthetic drug is administered as a tablet. 
     
     
       19. The method according to  claim 18 , wherein the tablet comprises the local anesthetic drug encapsulated in a taste masking composition to form a taste-protecting outer layer of the tablet, wherein the taste-protecting layer disintegrates or releases the local anesthetic drug near the surface of the stomach. 
     
     
       20. The method according to  claim 16 , wherein the local anesthetic drug is administered as a tablet. 
     
     
       21. The method according to  claim 20 , wherein the tablet comprises the local anesthetic drug encapsulated in a taste masking composition to form a taste-protecting outer layer of the tablet, wherein the taste-protecting layer disintegrates or releases the local anesthetic drug near the surface of the stomach.